Motherwell 4-0 Greenock Morton

Motherwell 4-0 Greenock Morton
Betfred Cup
Friday 19th July, 2019

There are a few ways I could begin this particular blog post and each one would be justified.

I could wax lyrical about what was a tremendous performance from Motherwell with several positives that will leave manager Steven Robinson buoying with confidence about the upcoming Scottish Premiership campaign.

I could begin by stating that despite what the scoreline suggests, Greenock Morton aren’t actually a bad side and had they not come up against a team who played so well, they might have pinched a very respectable result.

Or, I could begin by stating even though I’ve seen him officiate several times now, I’ve still got no idea quite how Willie Collum is regarded as one of the best referees in Scotland. His dour demeanour and stony facial features remind me of David Elleray - a retired former top-flight official (and school headmaster) south of the border from back in the day, who also loved power, control and every last little drop of attention, too.

All three introductions would be perfectly justified!

Rare sunshine and dry weather last night always rendered it likely that it would p*ss it down tonight as a result (that’s just how it works in Scotland) and so it proved with a torrential downpour a couple of hours beforehand and then scattered showers during the game.

On the pitch, Motherwell were bloody fantastic and such a strong display won’t have gone unnoticed by their league rivals.

The Steelmen had a genuine zest to get the ball down and move it forward quickly.

With the pace of Sherwin Seedorf on the left flank and the skill of Jermaine Hylton on the opposite channel, they have the potential to rip quite a few players a new arse hole this coming season.

Morton just couldn’t cope with either player and the first goal, midway through the opening 45 minutes, was of pure quality. A fantastic, inch-perfect low ball from the middle released Seedorf and his hard work set up James Scott for the opener.

Morton were no pushovers, nonetheless, and gave as good as they got in more ways than one for the remainder of the half. Although there were no cynical fouls, ‘Well fans felt frustrated that they weren’t given more by the aforementioned Collum who always seemed like he could give absolutely anything with his next decision.

The visitors from Greenock, frustratingly for their 280-hardcore following, f*cked about too much during injury-time at the end of the half when they had two corners, yet insisted on playing both short and backwards when a simple ball into the box to create a potential goalscoring chance was evidently necessary.

Morton’s John Sutton didn’t threaten too much but received warm applause from the home fans when he was brought off against his old employers after the re-start.

Motherwell were keen and eager to get the ball forwards at every opportunity and their work paid dividends when Scott bagged his second of the night with a powerfully-placed finish from Liam Polworth’s clever lay-off inside the area.

Undoubtedly the star of the show was Hylton and having moved out to the left flank in the latter stages (once the electric Seedorf had been substituted), he bagged the goal of the night with a curling low shot from the edge of the area. 3-0. Game over!

A few Morton fans had already headed for the exits by the time Liam Donnelly slammed the ball home with a rebound attempt to make it 4-0 on 82 minutes after a move where, potentially, a penalty may have been awarded for deliberate handball had he not found the target with his shot.

All in all, a fantastic display from the Steelmen who will hope their wingmen can play with such zest and quality when the Old Firm (and all the others) rock up to Fir Park this term.

A special thanks as well to Wendy in the Motherwell Ticket Office prior to the game, who looked rushed off her feet, but took the time and effort to deal with my somewhat complex ticket request.

She’s an absolute credit to Motherwell Football Club.

Next up tomorrow, a trip a few miles down the road to New Douglas Park to see Hamilton Accies take on Partick Thistle and I just hope that both sides perform better than they did last weekend, otherwise it has the potential to be a mind-numbingly shite 90 minutes!